Football Daily - The Debrief: Portuguese frustration for England

Episode Date: February 22, 2025

Are the Lionesses progressing enough ahead of their Euros title defence?Katie Smith reflects on a frustrating night for England as they were held to a 1-1 draw in Portugal in their Nations League opener.She's joined by former Lionesses goalkeeper Karen Bardsley and Aston Villa midfielder Lucy Staniforth to ask if Sarina Weigman's side are on the right track ahead of Euro 2025.We also hear from the England head coach and defender Millie Bright.There's also reaction to another bad night for Leicester, as they were thrashed 4-0 at home by Brentford.TIMECODES 01:00 Analysis of Portugal 1-1 England 06:00 Millie Brighton on England needing to improve 15:30 Sarina Weigman interview 21:00 Leicester City 0-4 BrentfordBBC Sounds / 5 Live commentaries this weekend: Sat 1500 Arsenal v West Ham, Sat 1730 Aston Villa v Chelsea starting on 5 Sports Extra, Sun 1400 Newcastle v Nottingham Forest, Sun 1630 Man City v Liverpool.

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number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search Criminilia. BBC Sounds music radio podcasts. On the football daily podcasts, the debrief. Listen on BBC Sounds with Katie Smith. So it finished Portugal 1, England 1 in the Women's Nation League opening match for the European champions who in 2025 in just a few months time this summer in Switzerland, England's Lionesses are hoping to defend that crown that they won in 2022 and we're going to try and dissect that performance went ahead early on with a goal from Alessia Russo,

but pegged back in the 75th minute by Kika Nazareth. So it finishes Portugal 1 England 1. Alongside me to go through all of that, our commentator Flo Pollock in Portugal with former England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley, and Lucy Staniforth joins us as well. England and Aston Filler midfielder. Karen, you watched that game out in Portugal in

mizzly dreary conditions and you've got to say there's a little bit of kind of pathetic fallacy there from what England then showed us on the pitch in the second half particularly. It was a real momentum shift, wasn't it, from the first half into the second? Yeah, it was a shame. It was a shame. I think they started out really brightly England and I was really excited about the things I was seeing but they kind of just didn't continue to happen. I think Francisco Neto was very clever with some of the changes especially the substitutions that he made and he managed to kind of nullify any major threat. England, you know, obviously the first goal came from a great switch from

Lauren James recognizing where the space was out to Lucy Bronze and Lucy Bronze put an absolute elite cross into the box and found Alessio Russo on the end of it. And we didn't really see much more of that quick play, the switching of moving that defensive block of Portugal and then once those substitutions were made, you know, Kiek and Asrith and Andrea Jacinto were just running the show in the midfield. Yeah, momentum is a word I think we're going to use a lot tonight, Lucy. And actually,

one moment that I think you can always seem to define with England when the momentum does always seem to drop and it shouldn't is when Lucy bronze is taken off. Now she was switched at half time and she brings it. I mean she got the assist for the Russo goal brilliant pass in wasn't it from from the right. But that's worrying for England that we're seeing this this continual pattern that they seem to start so brightly but they can't hang on? Yeah, I think when you take Lucy for example, in the case of the second half when England tended to be pinned in their own half, she's the type of player that drives you at the pitch, would possibly get you into the Portugal half and give you more opportunities to put them in uncomfortable positions. I don't think we saw enough players able

to do that. I don't think we've got the ball into dangerous enough areas to be able to, like I say, cause Portugal more problems than they caused us and I wonder if that's the sort of experience in those moments when momentum shifts. Obviously there's a lot of young players on that pitch, albeit there is experienced ones too, but you know if you bring in the likes of young players on that pitch, albeit there is experienced ones too, but you know if you bring in the likes of Lucy, Beth Mead, even someone like Alex Greenwood having that nous in the game to understand how to wrestle back the momentum is so important. You mentioned there a couple of the key players missing, so Greenwood, Hemp,

Georgia Stanway not there, Beth Mead as well, all out with injury. Did you think then Lucy for you that it was those key kind of experienced heads that they could have had more of an impact on this game tonight, particularly when England conceded the goal, it went to 1-1, they had 15 minutes left to play and that's when you need a game changer. Yeah, I think when it's going good, you're obviously happy, but when the chips are down and you've been asked to defend for long portions of the game, perhaps those players, especially someone like Lauren Hemp, who can turn a long ball into a chance,

it just gives you more opportunities to get higher up the pitch and like I say, put in really difficult position so I think especially in those moments when you sort of go in for a winner and hanging on in the game I think that's where your experience players really come into play and can make a big difference. And Flo you mentioned that actually in commentary the fact that Alessi Russo has been in recent great form with Arsenal since the takeover there and the change of manager and Renae Slagers came in. Great to see her score again but actually if you look

at the backup options that England might have going into the summer of Beth Meade but you know hopefully back in the fold we're not quite sure what that injury is we don't think it's a long-term one. But then you've got the likes of Nikita Paras, been in great form at Brighton so far this season, has that England experience. But then Chloe Kelly, who's really lacking minutes, where is that backup for Russo?

Because then you have the problem that she may end up playing so much that she's going to get pretty fatigued. Yeah, it does feel like there's a lot of pressure on her shoulders as England's number nine. And as I said in commentary before, we always had Ellen White and then Russo. Ellen White would start, Russo would come on. And that felt like a really good option. And I don't want to be disparaging around Nikita Paris because she's an excellent forward, but she's also not, doesn't always play as an out and out number nine.

She can sometimes play as a wide player. There's Bethany England as well, who wasn't called up to this squad. She plays as a forward, central forward number nine. She's an option as well. But you know, I do worry about Alessia Russo if she got injured, I think we'd be in real trouble. Right, we're gonna head straight down into the tunnel,

actually, George Cummins with Millie Bright. Thanks Katie. Millie, some of your thoughts on the game tonight? I think we gave it two halves really. I think, you know, first half, I think we had better quality on the ball, a little bit more control. But yeah, I think lots of work to be done. Obviously, never happy conceding the goal, and especially I think in that manner when it was preventable

but listen they're a strong team, they tested us definitely tonight and yeah I think there's lots to work on ready for the game on Wednesday. So much control wasn't it in the first half, are you disappointed in the way that you've probably let the game get away from you? Yeah 100% I think listen when it's just 1-0 you keep the team in it and the longer it stays 1-0 the more the opposition get confidence and you know, tired legs out there towards the end of the game. So yeah, I think we definitely need to be more ruthless in front of goal and take our chances because as we know the game is so competitive so we need to create a few more I think as well but essentially when we do get those chances we've got to put them in the back of the net. How do you think the team is performing at the moment? Is it fair to say you're a little

bit maybe inconsistent, is that fair? Yeah, listen, I don't think we shy away from that. I think we're the first to analyse our performances and I think consistency is something we need. A few changes within the team as well and first game getting back, so yeah, I think lots of work to be done but I think main thing is we didn't lose the game. Just in terms of, you're one of these senior players, so what will you say to the players? I know you're standing in the Elgarva another couple of days, but what will you say to the players when you speak to them?

Because you've got a huge game now against Spain, haven't you, on Wednesday? Yeah, listen, we need to be confident. We didn't win the game, but equally we didn't lose the game. I think you have to draw out the positives from the performance. And listen, it's small margins in football, so if we make those tweaks, I think it takes us to another level. So I just think it's about getting back on the pitch, putting the hard yards in. But yeah, just lifting our quality a little bit. Like you said, staying a little bit more consistent.

But listen, you need encouragement. You can't be beat by one game mentally. So you have to stay strong, work hard. And yeah, we always want more from each other anyway. Thanks for joining us. Appreciate your time. Thank you. Millie Bright there with George Cummings for us live in Portugal, being listened to by Karen Bardsley, Lucy Stanafuth with us as well. Karen, we talked right at the top of the evening about consistency and I mean great to hear Millie Bright talking about, you know, accepting it, being honest, isn't she?

And she's saying, yes, we know we are being inconsistent. But how do they start becoming consistent? Because that was the problem at the end of 2024. It feels like a fresh start. And you know, all respect to Portugal. And I really think these teams have improved massively. England outranked them so formidable that they need to start laying down these markers, surely. No, I do think there needs to be a bit more of a bite in the performance, you know, have

that confidence of being, you know, the current defending European champions and kind of play with that freedom, play with that, like I said, that aggression and going, no, we're going to take this game to you. That's something I'd like to see more of. But they had it in the first half, didn't they? It was that one-two touch football, pinging it about. Exactly. And that's it.

That's the frustrating thing, I think, for me, is we certainly know what the girls are capable of doing. We see it in glimpses. But I wonder why we can't put a comprehensive performance, hence the question that you asked. But I'm glad that Millie Bright is being honest and saying that we know we've not been as consistent as we'd like. I certainly think, when I watched the game tonight,

I see that England don't tend to do the things that are working. So sometimes they'll play an amazing pass, a quick combination, and because it's direct, it's kind of like, I don't know, should we keep doing that? But yeah, you should, absolutely. You're getting joy.

You need to keep getting that joy and take advantage of that situation until the opposition do something about it. And I just didn't feel that. And fair play to, like I said, Francisco Neto. He's done well in bringing on the substitutions. He went to a back four. It was very clever about how he managed the threat.

And I think there were times where we just needed to be a bit more tidy on the ball and just have a bit more variety in how the girls are playing. Was there frustration for you, Lucy, that the changes from Vigman came quite late on? It was 84th minute that Clinton and Park came off, Kelly and Beaver Jones come on,

fresh legs, potentially a different type of creativity. But it was left so late, whereas you look at Portugal Kika of Barcelona brought on fairly early on into that second half and was a complete game changer. I suppose frustration but perhaps it's sort of something that we already know was common with Serena, I think that she likes to stick with what she knows. Yeah, I mean it's nothing new, is it? No, it's sort of the way that she operates, isn't it, is she kind of trusts the players on the pitch to get over the line and do the job.

Yeah, I think it's a difficult one, isn't it, because the likes are the key to Parish. It's not like she's a new, young player coming in. She's tried and tested, she's got an abundance of caps and is in really good form. So I don't know. I think the substitution that she made were fair, but I think there was definitely room for different people. And like KB said, I think we're probably getting in this cycle of doing the same things quite regularly

with this team. And perhaps it's just about having a bit of a plan B up your sleeve as opposed to sticking Millie Bright up front when these moments come and when we need to wrestle back a bit of momentum. Football kicks off now. How do you get into the heart of American football action? With Botano. Sign up with Botano and stream your favorite American football teams all season long.

Bet while you watch and feel the rush of every play, live and in real time. And enjoy all your favorite sports, hockey, baseball, soccer and more. Want to experience the thrill of betting on every play? Tap into Botano now and make every game day excited. Ontario residents only must be 19 or older. Please play responsibly. Welcome to the Criminalia Podcast. Together, we invite you into the dark and winding corridors of historical true crime. Each season, we explore a new theme from poisoners to art thieves.

We uncover the secrets of history's most interesting figures. And tune in at the end of each episode as we indulge in cocktails and mocktails inspired by each story. Listen to Criminalia on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search Criminilia. In Focus. On the Football Daily every Saturday. Catch the biggest names from the Premier League and beyond as they share all with nothing off limits. We are here to speak to awesome Ricardo Calafiore.

Welcome to the Football Daily. When I had this invitation, I felt that I had to do this. So to pick up on that point then you were making Lucy about Serena and I suppose there has to be a level of trust in what she's doing and what she's delivered so far. Do you feel like she at this point in the year will have a starting 11 in her mind? I think she tends to have an idea of who she wants to play. I think obviously her hands been at force with some of the people that are missing at the moment. I think there would have been a couple of changes had people been fit and available for these games. I do think that what happened over the back end of last year was people got opportunities

and I think that they took them and it was a little bit different for us to see such changes in the team. But I think she does know, I think she's pretty set in what she wants. And do we think, Karen, that Grace Clinton will be part of that thinking? A bit of a tricky one to assess for her this evening, I think we were all praising that performance in the first half and then a disappointing second half, that mistake, all kind of getting beaten for the goal, came off. I just wondered how you assess her performance. Yeah, as you say, the first half I thought she was great. She was really confident.

She was getting in between pockets of space, receiving it back foot and linking play. And I think she was getting forward like she's comfortable doing. But obviously that box to box role is slightly different than perhaps something that she's been doing for United. And I think there's bags of potential there, just needs some refinement. And I think she's in the right environment to be doing that.

And she'll learn a lot from this performance. And I think, like I said, like I alluded to earlier around the Portuguese performance and the substitutions. She went from kind of just going one-byv1 and having the support of the back line and Kira Walsh as well, but suddenly it was 2v1. The Portuguese obviously targeted her and made it really, really difficult. And you're up against a world class player and Keegan Asrath knows how to get on the opposite shoulder, how to get in the space and behind and put herself in

an area where you can't touch me and I'm going to have an open shot and goal. And obviously she's just punished and she's a quality quality player and I don't I don't think you know Grace Clinton really did anything wrong she just kind of got beat by someone that was in better form in that moment you know what I mean? Well Vigmen have been talking about Lucy wanting to see a slightly more defensive responsibilities from her I'm not sure necessarily tonight will have kind of improved that image although Mark Skinner's been talking about you know exactly what she's been doing at United and we've seen that. Do you think she starts against Spain on Wednesday?

Tough question. I think she has to purely on the basis that the good stuff she did in the game was so good and I think that she does have the physicality to do that role it's just about gaining those experiences and it's small tweaks in midfield that you pick up on the job I don't think you can learn it by watching video you have to be able to experience it and feel it to be able to know what's a good position what's a bad position where you might need help from other people, how to get other people to help you.

And I think this game would have done the world a good in gaining that array of experiences, good and bad. And I think that, yeah, I'm more than confident that she'll be playing in that game. We have the England manager live here on Five Live, Serena Vigmen with George Cummins. Thanks Katie. Serena, sum up, how are you feeling? How do you think the team did tonight? Well, of course I'm disappointed that we didn't win. I think we played a very good first half. Had a lot of possession played on their half,

scored a great goal, had some more opportunities to score and the second half, we were struggling a bit with their change of shape they put on they play a little more opportunity put other players on it and change their shape and we had to adapt to that unfortunately they scored a goal and yeah we had to work really hard to keep the ball and then also to come forward at the end of the second half we did, we came back in it a little more but that was not enough so lots of things to take towards Wednesday. Millie Bright wasn't happy as well, similar to what you're saying about how the team was

so good in the first half. How did the team go from having so much control and then maybe in that second half they just wobbled a little bit and Portugal scored. No, yeah, it had to do with their stops and their change of shape and our answer took a while and we were, yeah, the team was figuring out and then we got the shape right, but then you need to keep the ball and play forward and yeah, we struggling with that, except for the last five, ten minutes. Then we got to them again. So, yes, we want to do that better. We have to do that better too. You've got a lot of injuries at the moment.

Does that mean you're still looking for answers in how this team plays and how it evolves maybe in 2024? You've got no Stanway, no Lauren Hemt. The team needs to maybe be a little bit more creative going forward? No, I think if what you saw the first time, we had a lot of creativity in the team. And yes, of course, we have some injuries, but we have lots of talent. We, some players really get lots of experience over in a short amount of time and we will learn from that.

I think that's good, but of course you want to win. Huge game against Spain on Wednesday, how much of the team got to improve to beat them at Wembley? We just want to improve. I think Spain has struggled against Belgium, I haven't seen anything of that, but I saw the score. There were two down until the end of the game and extra time they scored. That's a new game in Wembley. We're going to refute tomorrow and then we're going to get ready for Wednesday. New game, new chance. Just a word on Lucy Bronze. You subbed her at half time. Is that an injury, precaution, anything she picked up?

Yeah, that's a precaution. She hasn't played that much. She has been building at club. So yes, we had to be careful with her, but she's good. You think she'll be OK for Wednesday? I expect her to be OK for Wednesday, yeah. Thanks for joining us. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Serena Wiegman with George Cummins in Portugal after England drew 1-1 with Portugal in their opening Nations League game. We'll just get some final thoughts ahead of what is going to be a huge game on Wednesday as England host Spain at Wembley, the first time they'll take on the World Champions since they were beaten in that World Cup final in 2023. Karen Lucy, I know you were there to watch it all

and the heartbreak, but Serena Vigman there, Karen, saying a couple of quotes I picked out, just want to improve. It's going to be a new game, a new chance, but it can't just be about a new game. It's against Spain. This is huge for so many of those players. Yeah, no, it is. It's massive because it's Spain and it's massive because it's a replay of the World Cup final isn't it and I think everyone's always going to want to get you know, get them back so to speak. But it's about going toe to toe with some of the best players in the world as well and I think that's where a lot of the girls are going to like really thrive you know. I can just imagine Lucy Bronze like g-ing everybody

up going right this is so and so and this is so and so and you're playing against the likes of Bon Matty and you know we see Calcedente week to week in the WSL and I think it's just a really really good test and a really good leveler and I just hope that you know we see a shift in quality come Wednesday night and a bit more consistency in our tactical evolution. Spain already topped the Nations League group, Lucy, on three points, England one after that draw, Portugal on one, Belgium on zero, Spain coming back from 2-0 down to beat Belgium 3-2, with a couple of goals coming in the 92nd and 96th minute. Just very briefly then, final thoughts, if England can do something special at Wembley against Spain on Wednesday, do we forget about this game tonight? Is it about moving forward as Serena says, just wanting to improve? I think that's football isn't it? I think you take what you can from the games you obviously

have to learn and improve because the second half wasn't good enough but I think you have to look forward and just relish the opportunity like you say, to play against the best players. I can't wait. I don't know about you guys. I'm not going to be there, but I certainly wish I was. It's going to be a great game. You'll be there with us in spirit, Karen. Many thanks to our guests this evening. Former England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley alongside our commentator Flo Pollock in Portimao in Portugal and of course, thanks to Lucy Staniforthorth England and Aston Villa midfielder keeping us company this evening as England drew 1-1 in their opening game of 2025. So work to do ahead of this summer when they try to defend their European crown in Switzerland.

Right so it's now 10 defeats in 11 matches for Leicester as they were beaten 4-0 at the King Power by Brentford in the Premier League. Lee Blateman was watching this one. All the damage was done in the space of 15 first half minutes. Whissa scuffed in the first and Bumo curled in the second and Norgard headed in the third before Carvalho wrapped it up in stoppage time at the end of the game. Add on to that Brentford hitting the post and they had a goal disallowed for handball too. Leicester had chances early on but otherwise offered little going forwards. Brentford win four Premier League away games in a row for the first time in their history but for Leicester as you just mentioned Katie, 10 league defeats in 11, they stay second bottom two points from safety and they've now lost six home league games in a row without scoring a single goal.

No Premier League team has ever done that. What was the reaction in the crowd like then Lee? From my screens in here I mean the rain was absolutely bucketing down so I'm sure that played a tiny part but it was pretty empty with about five minutes to go. Yeah at full time there wasn't much booing to be done because most of the supporters had gone by about 65, 70. There were loud boos at half time. But you know what? I'm going to cut the supporters a bit of slack tonight because everything pre-match here was spot on. The stadium was bouncing, we had the light show, we had the pyrotechnics, they loved those clappers here at the King Power, they were

making a right racket the supporters, they knew tonight the pressure was on them to get a win, they were trying to be the 12th man, but when you do what Leicester did and concede three goals in the space of 15 minutes, it just knocked the stuffing out of the supporters completely. On the pitch the players tried their best to keep their heads up. They managed to do that for most of the second half. The fourth goal completely killed the game. But the supporters, I think the reaction at full time from those who were still here, it

feels like they're resigned to what's coming their way, even though they are only two points from safety as things stand. And it's interesting what next steps it might mean for Rude Van Nistelrooy Lee as well coming in halfway through this season and it has just been bleak hasn't it? I think supporters are looking at Rude Van Nistelrooy and they don't want to get fully on his back because I think they're looking at the situation and thinking look it's not just his fault. There have been many comments made about their lack of activity in the transfer windows they'll look at the

team that he inherited when he came into the football club it was always going to be a difficult situation but when you look at the stats four points from his first two Premier League games they've picked up just three points since then and scored only four goals as well and they've picked up just three points since then and scored only four goals as well and they've conceded two or more in 13 of his 15 games in charge. I mean, we've got jobs, Katie, because we love talking about football, we love analysing football but there's not much analysis to be done beyond the basics for me with Leicester City. They don't score any goals down one end, particularly at home,

and they concede far too many down the other. It sounds a bit sarcastic when you put it like that, but it really is that simple. Don't score enough, concede way, way too many. Well, let's see if Ruud van Nistelrooy's analysis matches yours, Lee. He spoke afterwards to Martin Fisher. Ruud, after last week's performance against Arsenal,

where there was lots of fight, lots of spirit, how disappointing was that performance this evening from your team? Yeah, overall, I think, except from the first 10, 15, where we had three good chances to go up in the game, I think after that, the level between us and Brentford was simply too big. Credits to them, we weren't good enough today ourselves, they were solid. They were

physically also in their structures and on and off the ball play. They are in a place where we're far off that and we have to acknowledge it. What do you think was particularly missing from your team's performance this evening? It's efficiency as well. If you can go up in the first chances, we had a very positive start of the game. There were some good attacks, some good football, some good pressure moments. On the other hand, Brentford was lethal. The first three chances were a goal and killed the game from there on. Is it mentally an issue as well? It's now six consecutive defeats here in the league

without scoring a goal in any of those games as well, it's a dreadful record but when they rattled in goal number two and goal number three, did you feel as though there was a collective acceptance that it was not going to be your night again? I think at half time, 3-0 down, we said we want to go out and at least show something that it doesn't get any more. OK, we did that, but we also felt that the levels were simply too big today between the two teams. And how do you go about giving belief to the supporters? Because I don't know if you noticed, but there seems to be a lot of them leaving during the first half

and then more and more empty seats were visible in the second half as well. They seem to have lost belief that the team can turn this around. How do you restore that in them? Yeah, you know, it's important to first of all, start every single player, coach, staff member of the club has to recover from this. First of all you have to do it yourself. Tomorrow is a new day and we start again. But first it starts with yourself, reflect and recover and then collectively we have to move on. and recover and then collectively we have to move on. you In the shadows of Glasgow, two crime families rose to power. You're either with the Daniel family or you're with the Lyons family.

There's no in-between. A brutal war for control of Glasgow's lucrative drug trade that still rages today. Police think it's the work of a criminal gang. Join me, Livy Haydock, as I investigate the battle that shattered the old school rules of crime. They're just terrorizing people for whatever they meant. Gangster, the story of the Daniels and the Lions. Listen on BBC Sounds.

Welcome to the Criminalia Podcast. Together we invite you into the dark and winding corridors of historical true crime. Each season, we explore a new theme from poisoners to art thieves. We uncover the secrets of history's most interesting figures. And tune in at the end of each episode as we indulge in cocktails and mocktails inspired by each story. Listen to Criminilia on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search Criminalia.